Share prices on both sides of the Atlantic tumbled for a second day in succession as a rebound in Japanese equities failed to soothe fears over the country’s nuclear plant crisis.
欧美股Shi连续第二个交易日暴跌,日本股Shi反弹未能缓解市场对于该国核电站危机的担忧。
Further unrest in the Middle East also triggered a renewed flight into havens such as US Treasuries and the Japanese yen, the latter jumping to its strongest level versus the dollar since 1995.
中东的进一步动荡也引发了市场再度转向美国国债和日元等安全资产,日元兑美元汇率已涨至1995年以来的最高水平。
By early afternoon in New York, the S&P 500 index had fallen as much as 2 per cent, turning negative for the year.
截至纽约市场午后前段,标准普尔500指数下挫2%,今年迄今增幅为负。
The nerves of investors were tested when European Union energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger was quoted as saying that the Fukushima nuclear plant was “effectively out of control” and that “further catastrophic events” were possible within hours.
有消息援引欧盟(EU)能源专员冈瑟•厄廷格(Guenther Oettinger)的话称,福岛核电站“实际上已失控”,数小时内可能发生“进一步的灾难性事件”,这条消息令投资者的神经受到考验。
Despite his spokeswoman saying he had no special information on the stricken plant, unnerved investors accelerated the sell-off.
尽管厄廷格的发言人表示,他并没有得到有关这家受损核电站的特别信息,但紧张的投资者加速了抛售。
“Japan still struggles to contain the cascading failures at their tsunami- ravaged nuke plants, and Middle East unrest is an ever-present backdrop,” said William O’Donnell, a strategist at RBS Securities.
瑞银证券(UBS Securities)策略师威廉•奥唐奈(William O'Donnell)指出:“日本仍在艰难应对遭受海啸破坏的核电站的一连串故障,而中东动荡构成持续存在的背景。”
Investors are still waiting to see the cost to global economic growth from the events in Japan, while unrest in the Middle East has the potential to stoke a sustained rise in oil prices.
投资者仍等待看到日本这些事件给全球经济增长造成的代价,同时中东动荡可能引发油价持续上涨。
“Markets continue to digest the implications of the demand shock from Japan and the supply shock that continues to filter through energy markets,” said Eric Green, economist at TD Securities.
道明证券(TD Securities)经济学家埃里克•格林(Eric Green)表示:“市场正继续消化日本需求冲击以及继续蔓延整个能源市场的供应冲击的影响。”